Van Halen's Signature Song

[cadaverdog]

What song do you think of when you hear the name Van Halen? Running With The Devil? Ain't Talking Bout Love? Beautiful Girls? Jump? Panama? Something else? For me it's Ain't Talking Bout Love but I'm an old dude. Some of the younger folks might prefer Jump but personally Jump is one of my least favorites. Very little guitar. Fucking keyboard intro . The video reminds me of The Partridge Family pretending to play live on tv after the had too much caffeine.

[vandeleur]

Very little guitar.

When I see you Very little guitar sing to me

[vandeleur]

Oh , when I hear van halen I don't think of a song , it's more an attitude .
I hear van halen I think yip I deserve a drink

[DLR Bridge]

Unchained is the quintessential for me.

[Southpaw]

unfortunately their signature song has evolved from YRGM to PW to Jump. They are SO much more than that. This is for the average person who owns a radio, since I'm basing this on airplay. My VH signature song is Unchained.

[cadaverdog]

When I see you Very little guitar sing to me

Maybe I should have said minimal guitar.

[VAiN]

Unchained is the quintessential for me.

Same here.. If I had to show someone what VH sounds like I'd play Unchained. Romeo Delight is also a good one, IMO.. There's a lot going on in there.

[saint]

My guitar playing friend played me Eruption and I went to the record store to buy me some Van Halen, the only record they had was 1984 so when I came home I put it on, didn't care for Jump and thought what the fuck is this the same band? Then came Panama and I was sold, I think I played it 10 times in a row thinking this is so awesome. So for me it´s Panama

[cadaverdog]

unfortunately their signature song has evolved from YRGM to PW to Jump. They are SO much more than that. This is for the average person who owns a radio, since I'm basing this on airplay. My VH signature song is Unchained.

If this had been a poll I'd have excluded cover tunes for sure. I'm sure no one here would pick one from a non Dave album anyway unless they were joking.
Unchained kicks ass. I remember hearing some dude cranking it in his car while I was marching in boot camp.

[Nitro Express]

I heard "Dreams" while marching to slave labor in the gulag. Those bastards wanted to completely break us emotionally, mentally, and physically.

[vandeleur]

Maybe I should have said minimal guitar.

Am pulling ya leg

[atomicpnk47]

For me it's RWTD with Unchained a close second.....

[VHscraps]

Any of four or five tunes from WACF would, for me, capture the essence of Van Halen. It's my favourite album most of the time. It's the most spontaneous and energetic sounding slab of music that you will find outside of a live album - in fact, I'd say it is more 'live' than most so-called live albums ...

And they rip it up on tunes like 'Romeo Delight'. That might be obscure to most non-hardcore fans, but it is signature VH to me - it sounds like no-one else, and I'd wager that no-one could pull off a cover of it, because it is a pure explosion of whatever the hell was in the room when Templeman hit the record button, and Dave's attitude just goes way beyond a mere vocal.

'Cradle Will Rock' is also one of the most under-appreciated slacker anthems ever, with Dave at his peak.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

When I want to show kids nowadays The Mighty Van Halen I either show them Unchained from Oakland '81 or Montreal '84, probably both....

[fraroc]

When I want to show kids nowadays The Mighty Van Halen I either show them Unchained from Oakland '81 or Montreal '84, probably both....

Show them Us Fest 83, that's what got ME into Van Halen at just 7 years old.

[ThatArtGuy]

I love them all, but it all boils down to Unchained for me (although there are extremely close seconds).

[TwoFoolsAMinute]

RWTD. It's not my favorite VH song by any means, but that's the song I think of as their signature song.

[IceCreamBlondie]

Can I make two mentions? Unchained (especially in concert) and Eruption.

[binnie]

For the public at large, 'Jump' would be the defining song.

For me, 'Romeo's Delight' sums up every element of CVH.

[78/84 guy]

Panama is probably it. Huge video and great song. It is always on the radio.

[cadaverdog]

Can I make two mentions? Unchained (especially in concert) and Eruption.

Unchained's a good choice but I'd say Eruption would be Ed's signature song and Ice Cream Man would be Dave's. Alex's would be Hot for Teacher. Mikey?

[cadaverdog]

Nobody picked Everybody Wants Some. That pretty much sums up the CVH attitude don't it?

[78/84 guy]

Mikey ? Beautiful girls for sure. Great bass lines and vocals.

[katina]

It's difficult to choose one song... well, Runnin' with the Devil and Romeo Delight.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Romeo Delight and Take Your Whiskey Home.

[Nigel]

For me it has to be Meanstreet, cos no-ones ever done a song that great with such attitude.

However, Everybody Wants Some could not have come from any other band than CVH!!

[Nigel]

Romeo Delight and Take Your Whiskey Home.

Are you takin whiskey to the party tonight? or takin your whiskey home?

I know your favorite album. . . . .

[Fairwrning]

Heres one for ya..You get to choose one VH song to hear,,this is the only VH song you will ever hear for the rest of your natural life,,..whats your pick?


ATBL for me..

[VAiN]

Heres one for ya..You get to choose one VH song to hear,,this is the only VH song you will ever hear for the rest of your natural life,,..whats your pick?


ATBL for me..

I'd go with Romeo Delight... that song always gets me pumped..

[thismusicsux]

When I want to show kids nowadays The Mighty Van Halen I either show them Unchained from Oakland '81 or Montreal '84, probably both....

sweet. .. yeah Unchained opening (montreal) is unreal....The crowd goes insane when Dave jumps off the stage. Truly Epic.

If i had to pick one song that represents them to a new fan. it's tough.

1. Hot For Teacher I think has all the VH bells n whistles
2. Panama similar
3. Unchained which might be the (#1) I would actually pick
4. Romeo or ATCWR or EBWS are also up there
5. RWTD just because it's classic and from the beginning

[thismusicsux]

For me it has to be Meanstreet, cos no-ones ever done a song that great with such attitude.

However, Everybody Wants Some could not have come from any other band than CVH!!

yeah.. Mean Street is hard to beat. with that much attitude!!!!!!!! sick song

[Nitro Express]

Mean Street blew me away when I first played Fair Warning. Yeah. After Eruption that was the next big "Holly Shit!" VH moment for me. Years later I started playing bass seriously. I started learning how to do pop and slap and then it dawned on me Eddie was doing funk slap to get that Mean Street intro. That being said, even if you know basically what he was doing, it's very difficult to do it as well as he does. Pure simple brilliance.

[cadaverdog]

I heard "Dreams" while marching to slave labor in the gulag.

A knew a guy who would do a little mombo whenever Why Can't This Be Love came on the radio while Sammy was doing his doot doot doo bullshit. Seemed pretty funny at the time.